{"id":59559,"date":"2015-01-09T18:33:15","date_gmt":"2015-01-10T02:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=59559"},"modified":"2015-01-09T22:50:50","modified_gmt":"2015-01-10T06:50:50","slug":"mom-accused-of-pocketing-donations-for-sons-burial-body-left-at-county-morgue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2015\/01\/09\/mom-accused-of-pocketing-donations-for-sons-burial-body-left-at-county-morgue\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom accused of pocketing donations for son\u2019s burial, body left at county morgue"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Everardo<\/a>
Everardo Lalo Simental Jr. (inset), Jocelyn Montes and Christopher McGlory were killed in a traffic crash Nov. 21. 2014 in the intersection of Avenue K and 25th Street West in Lancaster. Simental’s body is still at the Los Angeles County morgue, authorities confirmed Jan. 8. Friends are accusing his mother, Heidi Velasquez, of pocketing money meant for her son’s burial and then lying about the body being buried in Mexico.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 After 12-year-old Everardo Simental Jr<\/strong>. was killed in a horrific traffic crash<\/a> last year, fundraisers were launched to help pay for his burial. Donation jars were placed at stores around town, an online campaign was created, and several people gave monetary donations directly to his mother, Heidi Velasquez<\/strong>, according to family friend Kayla Prosser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a couple of people that gave her $200 and I gave her $100 myself,\u201d Prosser said, adding that a woman from out of state also spoke of giving Velasquez a $500 donation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know some churches donated to her too, and I know somebody donated a suit for him to be buried in,\u201d Prosser said.<\/p>\n

\"At<\/a>
At a memorial service last month, Heidi Velasquez (second from right) said her son was buried in Mexico alongside his father, friends claim. (Contributed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nearly three weeks after his death, loved ones held a service at the Bel Air Estates mobile home park in Lancaster to remember the 12-year-old, who was known as Junior<\/strong> to his friends and family.<\/p>\n

At the informal memorial service, Velasquez announced that her son had been buried in Mexico alongside his father, according to Prosser. Velasquez continued to collect donations to send to Junior\u2019s family in Mexico, and a donation jar at the service was stuffed with money, Prosser said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was at least $300 in the jar when I left the memorial service,\u201d Prosser said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A donation jar at the memorial service collected around $300, which Velasquez said would be sent to Mexico, her friends claim. (Contributed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the story about Junior\u2019s burial unraveled this week when the Los Angeles County Coroner\u2019s Office tracked down Junior\u2019s former foster mother about claiming the 12-year-old\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

\u201cJunior has been sitting at the morgue for two months while the [biological] mother collects funds from people,\u201d Prosser said. \u201cWhen I first heard it I was sick. I was already distraught because he died so young and he had his whole life ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friends demanded an explanation, and Velasquez said it was all a misunderstanding, according to Stevo Lakios. Lakios pointed to an online message from Velasquez stating the body had been transported to Mexico for burial, but was sent back because there was no permit. View it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not so, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe body is still here, it\u2019s been here the whole time,\u201d said Los Angeles County coroner’s Capt. John Kades<\/span>, when asked Thursday afternoon if the 12-year-old\u2019s body had ever been transported to Mexico since his death on Nov. 21, 2014. As of Thursday afternoon, there was a request for \u201cCounty Disposition,\u201d Kades said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe disposition is for people with either no family, or the family is indigent and has no funds to afford a private burial or cremation, or the family abandons the body,\u201d Kades said. \u201cThe paperwork has been sent out and it\u2019s going through that process. Generally speaking, it takes at least two to three months before the body is cremated once that process starts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"When<\/a>
When contacted by telephone Jan. 8, Heidi Velasquez denied receiving donations for her son. (Facebook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Friends and others who donated money for Junior\u2019s burial are now upset.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want to know what she did with that money,\u201d Prosser said. \u201cShe used this for her own personal gain and I think it\u2019s sick. She should be exposed because she\u2019s still asking people for money.\u201d<\/p>\n

When contacted by telephone Thursday, Velasquez denied receiving donations for her deceased son.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, nobody gave me anything for my son. This is nobody\u2019s business, this is a family matter. Do not call me again!\u201d Velasquez said, before ending the call.<\/p>\n

But the family matter has been made public by concerned residents who are now rallying to ensure a proper burial for the 12-year-old boy. Palmdale resident Anell Moreno created a \u201cJustice for Junior<\/em><\/a>\u201d Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis story touched my heart because it\u2019s a kid,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cIt pisses me off that the mom is warm and cozy for the holidays, while her son\u2019s body is in a freezer \u2013 and she’s lying to everybody! How could she sleep at night?\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreno said she has been contacted by Velasquez since creating the \u201cJustice for Junior\u201d Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A “Justice for Junior” Facebook page has been created to call attention to the issue and to help get the 12-year-old a proper burial. (Visit the page here<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe contacted me saying that she could call the cops on me for harassment, but I\u2019m not harassing her,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cWhen that little boy is laid to rest I will stop. I just want her son to rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior\u2019s paternal family members have now stepped in. An aunt in Texas, Ana Simental, said she contacted the coroner\u2019s office this week after someone called her and said her nephew\u2019s body was still at the morgue. Simental said Junior\u2019s paternal grandparents in Mexico had not received any money from Velasquez, and they were not aware of any plans for Junior\u2019s burial in Mexico nor had they made any arrangements to receive the body. Simental said she is now communicating with Velasquez and the coroner\u2019s office to try to get her nephew\u2019s remains to Mexico to be buried alongside his father.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Previous related stories:<\/p>\n

Loved ones remember traffic crash victims, fundraisers set<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Triple fatal traffic crash in Lancaster<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 After 12-year-old Everardo Simental Jr. was killed in a horrific traffic crash last year, fundraisers were launched to help pay for his burial. Donation jars were placed at stores around town, an online campaign was created, and several people gave monetary donations directly to his mother, Heidi Velasquez, according to family friend Kayla […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59559"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}